


Should I Stay or Should I Go?

by ptw30



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, Los Angeles, M/M, Post-Winter Cup, Street Ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 17:56:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3538763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ptw30/pseuds/ptw30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagami's Dad asks him to move to L.A. after the Winter Cup Championship. The Generation of Miracles has something to say about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Should I Stay or Should I Go?

“I can’t believe your dad asked you to move back to L.A.”

Kagami bounced the ball between his legs with each step he took, walking normally and easily managing the ball without looking at it. “I know. He was all set with me finishing high school in Japan, and now he wants me to permanently move back to the U.S.?”

“It’s probably because he knows this is where you’ll end up.” Himuro watched and waited for the right moment to strike, and at the very last moment, Kagami drew the ball away as Himuro swiped. 

“Ha!” Kagami dribbled a few feet in front and then started walking backwards, still bouncing the ball with his left hand. “And hey. What do you mean, I’ll end up here?”

“It only makes sense, Taiga.” His eyes narrowed dangerously at the elusive ball before his good nature returned. “Japanese colleges don’t play the same level of basketball as America, and if you’re aiming to be the best, you’re going to have to play the best. You’ll go Division I here easily before jumping to the pros. You won’t be able to do that in Japan.”

Kagami sighed and resumed walking forward, mind wandering enough to allow Himuro to steal the ball. “Hey!”

“You should think about your boyfriend more often.”

Kagami couldn’t keep his cheeks from flushing red hot. “Shut up.”

Slowing to a steady dribble, Himuro shot Kagami a sympathetic gaze. “Have you told him yet?”

“Yeah, two days ago. I called, and when I didn’t get him, I sent him, like, a million texts.” Kagami ruffled his dark red locks. “He hasn’t been on Facebook, and I couldn’t get him on email either. It’s…It’s almost like he knew what this trip was and is avoiding me.”

They entered the fenced concrete court, a heated game already underway. 

“So…are you going to take your dad up on it?” Himuro asked.

“I was thinking about it. I mean, it makes sense, right? Seirin already won the Winter Cup last year. We’ll be contenders again this year, but this private school my dad picked up out is pretty sweet with a college prep coach and everything.”

“So the only thing that’s stopping you from saying yes is a small forward with blue hair and huge eyes.”

“Along with everyone else.” He stopped pointedly and met Himuro’s curious gaze. “Like you. You’re over there, too, now. I’d miss you, Tatsuya.”

A genuine smile found Himuro’s lips, and then he released a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Stop saying embarrassing things. Kuroko’s rubbing off on you.”

It was true. Kuroko had that effect upon him, and though Kagami was the first one to “make a move,” there was no doubt that Kuroko had shown him the way, spouting embarrassing truths like they were everyday speech. 

“Hey, you guys!” someone shouted from the court, and he noticed the last game had ended. “We’re down two. Wanna play?”

Like they had to ask, but Himuro and Kagami glanced at each other. It had been so long since they played on the same side, the same team, and a tingle of excitement sparked in Kagami’s belly. By the challenging smile on Himuro’s face, Kagami knew his brother felt the same way. 

The match was brutal yet exhilarating, and Kagami and Himuro tore up the court with their spot-on passes and impeccable defense. The other team scored, but they always sneaked ahead. Breathing heavily with sweat trickling down his brow, Kagami found himself enjoying basketball as he always did, whether in L.A. or in Japan. In fact, he savored playing with Himuro again, but there was no doubt he missed Kiyoshi’s supportive back against his own, fighting for the next rebound. He missed Hyuga’s relentless commands and even Izuki’s stupid puns (though he would only admit that to himself). He missed his friends’ cheers from the sidelines, urging him on, and most of all, he missed the splash of blue hair just inside his range of sight. 

Kuroko might be invisible to most, but Kagami always kept—or tried really, really hard to keep—an eye on Kuroko. 

Kagami knew the inexorable truth. Kuroko had specialized skills, but with his height, most colleges wouldn’t recruit him, no matter how spectacular his passes were. He might go Division III in America, but he’d never make it farther than that. And Kagami—Kagami sought the NBA. 

But that was the future, and Kuroko was his partner, on and off the court. They’d made another promise—to defend their title as champions of Japan against the Generation of Miracles who sought their crown. 

Maybe they wouldn’t be together in another two years. Maybe they would be. Maybe Kuroko would consider going to college in America, but he didn’t need to worry about that now. He just needed to decide how to break it to his father that he wouldn’t be staying in L.A. 

After all, this level of basketball was nowhere near that of the Generation of Miracles, and any college would be take him if they saw clips of his games versus Aomine, Akashi, or any of the top players in Japan. 

Himuro slapped him on the back, sharp and hard, and he sent his brother a dirty glare. But by the smile on Himuro’s face, he knew he didn’t need to explain the decision he’d made. 

They played long into the afternoon before heading home for dinner. Kagami completely lost track of the conversation when he glanced down at his phone and sighed. 

“Still nothing from Kuroko?”

“I’m beginning to think he’s ignoring me.”

“Nah.” Something in Himuro’s voice changed, and as Kagami head shot up, Himuro took the advantage, swiping the ball away. 

“You bastard!”

“That was weak, Taiga,” a familiar voice admonished over the L.A. traffic, and Kagami’s eyes widened. He stopped just before the entrance to his father’s apartment building where six figures gathered their bags and stood to greet him. 

The Generation of Miracles came to L.A. to see him?

Kuroko didn’t rush to him, only shrugged a shoulder and glanced at his former teammates. “I wasn’t sure if I could convince you to come back to Japan, so I brought reinforcements, Kagami-kun.”

Himuro looked all too amused. 

“Shut up,” he growled. 

Himuro laughed. “I didn’t say anything!”

“Shut up anyway.”

“Kamagicchi!” Kise all but cried. “You can’t leave us!”

“You still haven’t beaten me one on one, Taiga,” Aomine admitted, wrapping an arm around Kagami’s neck like a cobra. “America cannot have you until Todou tears Seirin down from its throne. I want you there to wallow in the misery.”

“I want to crush you now, but Kuroko-chin says I have to wait until next year’s tournament,” Murasakibara complained. “Hmm…but that’ll be too much work. Tatsuya, can’t I just crush him now?”

“No, Atsushi. You may not.” Himuro could hardly suppress his laughter.

“A Leo is to bow to a Cancer today.” Midorima pushed up his glasses. “You will lose this fight.”

Akashi took audience with Kagami, looking him straight in the eyes. “It’s simple, Kagami-kun. We are not done with you yet.”

He said it with such absolute confidence, Kagami almost thought it was arrogance, but Akashi only stated facts. 

Kagami then met Kuroko’s eyes, and they were huge. They were bright, and they were smiling at him. 

With his cheeks burning, Kagami pushed Aomine off his shoulders and growled. “You all can’t stay at my place!”

Which was a blatant lie because his dad came down a few minutes later and invited them all up.

“Taiga had told me about his friends,” he chuckled and proceeded to pull out the sleeping bags and camping gear. “I didn’t realize you were all so close…until I received a call from this very enthusiastic girl who started spouting about the different high school players in the L.A. and how they wouldn’t be able to give Taiga the competition the ‘Generation of Miracles’ does. Are you all that good? And can you please get her to stop calling me?”

The teens laughed like they shared an inside joke, which Kagami guessed they did. 

It was downright flattering and oddly comfortaing that night at dinner with the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko, and Himuro all spread out on his living room, chowing down pizza and chugging soda. Where once animosity flourished between them, they laughed and told stories. They threw threats and made plans for revenge games. Kagami wasn’t sure when, but at some time during the last year, he stopped looking at them as rivals and started looking at them as challengers. 

As friends. 

He hid his conclusion behind a swig of soda and a seventh piece of pizza. 

Kuroko scared the crap out of Kagami that night when Kagami rolled over once and opened his eyes to see his boyfriend sitting cross-legged on a low-up mattress that he must had dragged in from the living room. He muttered about Akashi’s horrible snoring and Kise’s late-night pranks, then collapsed back onto the bed, sprawled out like five year old. Kagami politely ignored the drop of shaving cream on Kuroko’s nose. It was adorable. 

Once his breathing was under control, Kagami found himself much more comfortable with Kuroko in his room and allowed his eyes to drift shut.

“Kagami-kun?” Kuroko whispered a moment later.

“Hm?”

“I am no longer a shadow, but a light who can shine on my own.” 

Kagami cracked open one eye to see Kuroko’s usually serene face tense, his bottom lip drawn into his mouth. 

“If—If you want to stay in L.A., I won’t ask you to return to Tokyo.”

Kagami reached out, entwining his warm fingers with Kuroko’s cold ones. “Tetsu?”

“Hm?”

“You’re my light, and I can’t imagine not being in your glow. So shut the hell up.”

Kuroko rolled over in his bed and shoved his burning face in his pillow, mumbling, “Kagami-kun says such embarrassing things!”

“ _I_ say embarrassing things? Dude, you’re probably the king of—mphm!”

Kuroko’s lips were warm and inviting on his own, and he savored their feeling and their shared intimacy. Kuroko offered with a caress his hair and nuzzled against his neck, and then Kagami grabbed Kuroko’s waist, hands dipping under Kuroko’s shirt when the door suddenly swung open. 

“Kuroko-kun, would you mind sleeping on my bed? I’ll take the floor.”

“Dad!” Oh, God. He wanted to die. Why couldn’t the ground just open and swallow him whole?

At least Kuroko had the consideration to look embarrassed with a flushed face and averted eyes, and he quickly shuffled from the room with a bow and a muttered apology. 

Kagami’s father dropped to the air mattress, letting out a prolonged sigh and snuggling under the blankets. The thick air threatened to choke Kagami, and his cheeks radiated heat. He opened his mouth to talk when his father interjected, “I’ll talk to my boss on Monday and ask for a transfer back to Tokyo.”

Kagami rolled over to look down at his father, who gazed up with a thoughtful expression. “But Dad, you said—”

“You have found some pretty extraordinary friends in Japan, if they’re willing to come to L.A. for you. That’s the kind of friends you don’t leave.”

Kagami grunted and pulled his blankets over his head. Well, yeah, they were kinda cool, if a little unorthodox. And yeah, he was going to love the next two years. 

“And of course, tomorrow morning, we’re going to have a safe sex talk and set new ground rules for you and your ‘he’s-just-a-friend’ Kuroko.”

“DAD!”

“Taiga!”

A beat.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Yeah, well, you better win again this year. I want to see it.”

The End


End file.
